'Grateful for the approach' - Man United new signing Zirkee reveals how he came close to playing for Super Eagles

Joshua Zirkee.jfif

Manchester United's new signing, Joshua Zirkzee, has revealed how close he came to playing for the Super Eagles.

The 23-year-old met with former Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr in Germany during his time at Bayern Munich.

According to Zirkee, Rohr explained his plans for him to switch allegiance to Nigeria and join the Super Eagles setup.

"I was very young when I met with the Nigeria coach, around 18 or so," Zirkzee said.

"He told me about his plans for me in the team, and I asked for time to make a decision. My desire has always been to play for the Netherlands, and I'm glad it finally happened at the Euros. I'm grateful for the approach from Nigeria, though."

Born in the Netherlands to a Nigerian mother and a Dutch father, Zirkzee began playing football at the age of five with VV Hekelingen.

An impressive spell with Feyenoord in the 2016-2017 season earned him a move to Bayern Munich's junior team in 2017.

In 2019, Zirkzee joined Bayern Munich's first team, making a few appearances before being loaned to Parma and Anderlecht.

He was signed by Serie A side Bologna on a permanent deal in 2022. His impressive campaign with Bologna last season led to a move to Manchester United, where he signed a five-year deal on July 14.

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